Noob background and question...

[7sleeper]

Dear Red Label

I am new here, so I will quietly give my advice.

do not underestimate pine wood/softwood. They offer a lot of heat altough only for a shorrt amount of time but they will heat the house.

Hello everyone

7sleeper from Austria

 

[Red_Label]

Dear Red Label

I am new here, so I will quietly give my advice.

do not underestimate pine wood/softwood. They offer a lot of heat altough only for a shorrt amount of time but they will heat the house.

Hello everyone

7sleeper from Austria

Good point. And we certainy do have a LOT of that stuff around here. I got into this whole chainsaw deal because I had two trees' worth of "free" wood (guess it's not free now!), but after that I'll have to secure more wood and it will likely be those types that I'll end-up with.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

Welcome.

If you have not already read through it, I recommend the online Oregon chain manual, theres a ton of good info there about chains, bars, safety and maintenance, even us pros and semi pros can learn new stuff in there.

http://www.oregonchain.com/tech/manual_maint.htm

 

[Big Neb]

Where in Montana are you?

 

[Dan Forsh]

Hi all. I've been lurking on this site for a few days and wanted to post some background and a question.

Dear Red Label

I am new here, so I will quietly give my advice.

do not underestimate pine wood/softwood. They offer a lot of heat altough only for a shorrt amount of time but they will heat the house.

Hello everyone

7sleeper from Austria

Hello to the pair of you and welcome.

 

[aandabooks]

Good to know... thanks! I suppose that the bark is basically worthless for burning then?

I have looked at the Oregon 91V chain and will definitelty try to go that route and a 16" Oregon bar as well. Would you recommend a solid bar or one with a sprocket? I still don't know the differences yet (strengths, weaknesses, etc). I won't do anything until I know more what I am doing, but I'm always thinking ahead to what I need to buy next. I wish I had oak, hickory, etc. But I live up here in MT and I'm not sure we have a lot of that stuff. Most of what gets cut and burned up here is crappy lightweight stuff like pine, spruce, fir, etc.

The bark burns. You'll just have it rolling off the split pieces and detaching from the unsplit whole. The logs will shrink from loss of moisture but the bark doesn't.

Definately would want a roller tip bar. Solid nose bars require extra power to turn the chain around them.

Matt

 

[brent denny]

I think you will be very happy with the cs-400. They start and run flawlessly. The cs-400 seems to be jetted perfectly from the factory. Most people that have never ran one would be amazed at the power they make. They have to be one of the smoothest rubber mounted saws out there. They run 3/8 lo-pro, so get some chain without the guard links and it will cut plenty fast. Since you have some larger rounds to cut up, I see no reason not to wear out the 18" setup you have. You can always get a 16" later. There is really no good reason to run anything other than 50:1 in the saw. Thats what it was designed to run on and it will last just fine. Run echo powerblend oil if you can get it and at least 89 octane. Keep a sharp chain and clean air filter and I think you'll be amazed at what that saw will do.

 

[Festus Haggen]

As long as you maintain that saw properly, it should last quite a few years at your current level of use. I cut many cords of dead locust with a Husky 141 that I got from lowes for 200 bucks, it still runs great. The saw has performed flawlessly, literally saved my butt during the floods in 06, spent 8 hours trying to get to home/work, had 8 or 9 cars following me, cutting trees out of the road and removing old fences, etc would have been impossible without the saw. So I feel that I've gotten my 200 bucks worth several times over.


Good that you're planning to at least have the option of heating with wood. We have a "no electricity" night once in a while, just for practice. My son actually cheered the last time the electricity went out, he ran and got his LED flashlight and was ready to go in a flash.

Several people have mentioned the Oregon chain stuff, worth a thorough read, and probably another after you've used the saw once or twice.

 

[Red_Label]

Where in Montana are you?

Billings.


Oh... I just noticed that you are as well. IM inbound...

 

[Red_Label]

Thanks for all the kind and informative replies guys. I really do appreciate them and thanks for making me feel so welcome.

I will definitely be browsing these forums a lot to soak-up as much as I can here. The saw ships today, so I should have it sometime next week and be ready to start the hands-on learning next weekend. Years ago, I rebuilt my Honda CR-250 dirtbike engine (including all seals and bearing in the tranny even). So I won't feel too overwhelmed in terms of the mechanical knowledge on this little two-stroke. But the art of [SAFE] woodcutting is what I'm really hoping to gain knowledge on here.

Thanks again... you've all been so helpful... :newbie:

 

[aandabooks]

I'd have to agree with Festus on the read of the Oregon chain stuff. Alot of the talk on here will make more sense to you. The saw will probably come with a loop of 91VG on it. Don't go down to your home supply store and pickup another loop. Order from either Bailey's or Amicks or check ebay. As I discovered after cutting with 91vg for the first couple of years and then discovering AS, it is complete junk.